Pennsylvania to collect $224M in gas drilling fees

Apr. 5, 2014

Written by

Associated Press

Web graphic Marcellus Shale

HARRISBURG, PA. — Pennsylvania’s new “impact fee” on the booming natural gas drilling industry is expected to generate $224.5 million from wells in 2013, up 10 percent over last year’s amount.

The Corbett administration said Friday the projection is based on Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission data.

A two-year-old state law imposes a 15-year fee on companies drilling into the Marcellus Shale formation. The annual fee for each horizontally drilled well is between $5,000 and $60,000, depending on the price of natural gas and age of the well. Vertical wells are assessed a smaller fee.

The state will take about $20 million up front for various regulatory agencies. Sixty percent of what’s left will be split among about counties and municipalities that host gas wells. State grant programs split up the rest.